


Off Script

by water_lili_es



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Theatre, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:28:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24537016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/water_lili_es/pseuds/water_lili_es
Summary: “A date.” Taeil repeats, pushing the menus closer to their end of the table. “It’s better than arranging a shotgun wedding between you two. And, err, more legal, I think.”“I’m sorry, but I think I missed your point?” Taeyong asks, blinking in disbelief as he cocks a brow at Taeil. He looked as shocked and confused as Jaehyun felt. It was a Friday night, he’d much rather be at home, curled up in his bed and blasting music until he fell asleep than in the middle of another one of Taeil’s crazy social experiments.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 11
Kudos: 189





	Off Script

**PROLOGUE**

The school’s auditorium is empty save for four boys seated front-row and another four on stage, as well as one boy inside the technical booth, on his phone and not minding the world outside of the box. Half-made props and backdrops were littered on the front aisle, as well as sketches for more props on the table in front of the four seated boys. It was two months until the school’s play, and preparations have just begun.

“Okay, let’s end it there.” Taeil said from his seat at the theatre’s front row. The actors on stage— Taeyong, Jaehyun, Renjun, and Donghyuck — stop mid-scene with Donghyuck falling to the ground after running along the breadth of the stage whilst saying full sentences as part of his blockings and dialogue. Renjun rolls his eyes playfully as he sits next to the boy, crawling to the end of the stage to get his hands on one of the stray scripts and reading through it during the break.

Mark, who’s inside the technical booth, starts to play with the stage lights. The drama teacher told him that some bulbs might have to be changed so now he was double-checking which of the bulbs needed to be replaced. He refrained from checking how bright the lights can shine whilst the actors were practicing a scene in fear that one or more of them would be flashed by the lights and fall over.

Taeyong, who’s seated on the couch, gives the stage director a questioning smile. “Did we do good?”

Almost half of the people inside the auditorium wince at the question but none of them pay it any mind. Either Taeyong or Jaehyun had posed this question more times than any of them cared to count since production started and Donghyuck was almost convinced that that particular line was in their script and he was somehow overlooking it.

Taeil looks up from his script, handing it over to Doyoung, the playwright. He stifles a sigh as he shakes his head. “No.”

Jaehyun, standing behind the couch, slumps, his hands falling from Taeyong’s shoulders. “God, I really thought we did better that time.”

Doyoung winces, eyes flicking towards the two sophomores on the floor before back to the two seniors. He wasn’t much older than the two, he was younger than Jaehyun, even, but he surely was more level-headed and responsible than the both of them combined; which said a lot considering that Taeyong was the other half of the equation. He was calmer than Taeil, even, who looked like he was beginning to struggle with Taeyong and Jaehyun. “You really didn’t.”

They’ve started practice a week ago and their main problem had been Taeyong and Jaehyun, right off the bat.

Jungwoo and Johnny were seated side-by-side on Taeil’s other side, looking over a script and trying to decide what to do with the two seniors. Their chemistry was there, everyone was sure of it, especially the props committee, but the boys can’t seem to reach into their emotions and let that chemistry out.

Taeyong huffs out a groan, letting his back hit the sofa he was seated on. He couldn’t understand why the stage managers and playwright were pushing them so hard for. In his opinion, he and Jaehyun were acting perfectly fine.

At first, he humoured Taeil. He worked with him before, he knows how much of a perfectionist Taeil could be, but this was just too much. Any scene with interactions between Jaehyun and Taeyong ended up cut short because Taeil would find something to nitpick at. It’s gotten annoying for all three of them; Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Taeil.

Taeyong was past thinking that Taeil was simply playing tricks on them because the look of pure resignation and confusion in Taeil’s face told him that Taeil really did see a problem with Taeyong and Jaehyun.

“I’m sorry, guys, but I just really can’t,” Taeil pauses, taking a breath as if to stop himself from saying something he’s said multiple times this week. “I can’t see the chemistry at all.”

“We know you two have it in you.” Johnny interjected, thumbing through his dog-eared script. “You just have to bring it out.”

“We’re doing what we can, Taeil, Johnny.” Jaehyun sighed. He’s propped his elbows on the spine of the couch, leaning half an arm’s length away from Taeyong. “But I don’t see the problem at all.”

“Me, either.” Donghyuck said, seated cross-legged on the floor. The lights flicker above him, changing from varying hues of red and violet. “They’re acting well.”

“They’re not acting like a married couple.” Taeil groaned, speaking as if he was the only one that can see the error. In times, he really was the only one, but there are times where Doyoung, Johnny, or Jungwoo would back him up with his nitpicking.

“Maybe we should try something different with them.” Jungwoo mumbled as he chewed on his pen, a habit that his boyfriend always scolded him for but made no move to change. “A few exercises, maybe? Another one of those ice breaker games to get them to warm up to each other a bit more.”

“We’ve already tried that.” Doyoung said. They did it with the whole cast a day before practice officially started, then a couple more sets of ice-breakers for Taeyong and Jaehyun alone when Taeil started to complain about their acting dynamic.

“If that would work, then it should have fixed our problem already.” Renjun said, not looking up from the script he was holding in his hands.

None of them can use the excuse that the two seniors were testing the waters. They’ve acted in many plays before, acting in the same play once or twice already, even. But this was the first play where their roles were as intimate as a married couple, but even then, they’ve acted as other people’s love interests before, without a hitch, too. They really couldn’t see what was wrong when neither of them changed acting styles. But Taeil could see something that they weren’t sure was even there, and he really wanted to see it.

Jungwoo eyed Jaehyun and Taeyong, racking his brain for anything that would help appease Taeil into becoming more lenient towards the two. The both of them were great actors and he wasn’t exactly sure what Taeil was seeing so wrong that the perfectionist in him can’t overlook.

“Okay!” Taeil stood, clasping his arms together, loud enough for even Mark to stop playing with the lights. He pointed one hand at Taeyong whilst the other directed itself to Jaehyun. “Taeyong, Jaehyun, tonight.”

“Tonight?” they chorused, Taeyong’s head tilting to the side.

“Yes, tonight!” Taeil beamed, clasping his hands once again, not as loud as the first time. “Dinner at Limitless.”

Taeil was sure that Jaehyun and Taeyong can do better. They’re amazing actors and he wasn’t the only one that thinks so. But he knows that they’re holding back; that there’s a door that they can open with each other with just the right push. He wanted to unlock that door, no matter how hard the push needed to be to do so.

“Wait, without us?” Donghyuck whined, his feet kicking from where they were tucked under his legs.

Johnny, Jungwoo, and Doyoung all looked to the stage manager, who just sat back down and flipped through his script in an obvious attempt to ignore the questioning eyes on him. “Okay, let’s try a different scene!”

Jaehyun and Taeyong share a glance, Jaehyun shrugging in confusion as the two of them make their way down the stage and to sit in the audience, seeing that the scene Taeil chose to practice didn’t need either of them on-stage.

**ACT I SCENE I**

Jaehyun sits alone in the booth Taeil apparently had reserved (he didn’t even know that you could make reservations at a diner, but he supposed that being regulars had its perks). The stage director still hasn’t told them what he wanted to happen, but he wasn’t going to refuse a free dinner because of the ambiguity.

The lights in the diner were still relatively bright, considering that it was only past 6 and the sun hasn’t completely set yet. This place was a usual spot for students of their school, especially in Jaehyun’s circle; they can stay in Limitless from when the diner opens at 8 am and extend their stay until it closes at 11pm, their group rotating around a single table they’ve claimed for the day.

“Jaehyun!” Taeil calls loudly as he enters the diner.

Jaehyun groans, visibly embarrassed of having been associated with the older. “Seriously, keep your voice down.”

“Oh, come on, they love us here.” Taeil beamed as he sat across Jaehyun. He looks around, his eyes searching the half hectare-wide diner and the occupants of the other booths. “Where’s Taeyong?”

Jaehyun shrugged, spinning his fork on the table. “I don’t know. It’s either he’s late or he bailed on us.”

He wasn’t in bad terms with Taeyong, but he wasn’t particularly fond of the boy, either. They were acquaintances at best, and even then they never really interacted until the need arises. They never tried to click despite having known each other their whole high school lives.

“I’m right here.” Taeyong said as he slipped into the seat next to Jaehyun. He gives Jaehyun a pointed look, a harmless one that meant no offense, simply to say that he heard what the other had said and Jaehyun shrugs as a sign of apology, stifling a chuckle.

Taeyong turns to Taeil. “Okay, what are we here for?”

Taeil places two menus in front of them, smiling brightly at the two. “You’re going on a date tonight.”

“Excuse me?” Taeyong sputtered simultaneous to Jaehyun’s, “What?”

Taeil’s smile doesn’t falter. He’s known to be an eccentric stage manager with his overwhelming sense of perfectionism. Even then, Jaehyun respected his friend. He was outrageous at times, sure, but he never not made sense with his methods, oftentimes even applauded Taeil for his seemingly endless stream of unconventional ideas and experiments to use on the actors under him.

Not until now, when he’s saying nonsense like a date between Taeyong and Jaehyun without so much as batting an eye.

“A date.” Taeil repeats, pushing the menus closer to their end of the table. “It’s better than arranging a shotgun wedding between you two.” he pauses, stops himself from clicking his tongue. “And, err, more legal, I think.”

“I’m sorry, but I think I missed your point?” Taeyong asks, blinking in disbelief as he cocks a brow at Taeil. He looked as shocked and confused as Jaehyun felt. It was a Friday night, he’d much rather be at home, curled up in his bed and blasting music until he fell asleep rather than in the middle of another one of Taeil’s crazy social experiments.

Taeil sighed, finally realizing that he needed to give an explanation. “You two need to act like a married couple. And obviously, getting you two hitched isn’t going to be easy— I’m not even sure if it’s legal since we’re all minors here— so we’re going with the next best thing: having you two be boyfriend and boyfriend. At least then you’d have the feel of being together.”

“And you think this is going to work?” Jaehyun said, a brow now raised like Taeyong. “Being fake boyfriends isn’t going to help our acting, Taeil.”

“Then don’t be fake!” Taeil grinned as if he was stating something obvious. He looked genuinely pleased with his own idea, like he’s had it on standby for a while now and he’s finally found the perfect people to go through with it.

Taeyong’s brows furrow, a dimple forming in the crease. “I don’t think you know how these things work.”

“You’re right!” Taeil said, still as peppy as when he first thought of the ploy. “I don’t, but I _do_ know you two do! So have fun on your date.”

Taeil stands, getting ready to leave when he turns back to Jaehyun and Taeyong. “You two are going to have fun on this date. It’s your first date, let loose, talk, have some drinks, whatever. They have my card on the counter.”

“Taeil—“ Jaehyun starts but is cut off immediately.

He presses his palms on the table, leaning towards his now newly proclaimed couple. “You’re not leaving this diner until it closes. If you do, not only will your dinner not be free, but I _will_ be cutting you from the play.”

“You can’t do that.” Taeyong protested. The moment his words left his mouth, he knew that what he said was wrong. Taeil was the stage manager, he had the power to change roles as he saw fit, even if those reasons _were_ off-the-wall bonkers. Taeyong wanted to smack himself for forgetting that detail.

Taeil smiled, teasing. “Yes, I can, Taeyong. You have understudies, it’ll be easy.”

Taeyong draws in a breath. He’s never been replaced in a play, and no way in hell is he letting his spotless record be tainted now.

Taeil stands properly, smiling at them. “I want to hear all about your date on Monday, okay? Have fun, lovebirds!”

Taeil leaves the diner, leaving both Taeyong and Jaehyun confused and bewildered. They stare at the door, internally hoping that a cackling Taeil will re-enter with his real idea on how to fix their barely-there acting problem, but half a minute passes and Jaehyun knows tha Taeil is already well on his way home.

Jaehyun breaks out of his thoughts first as he reaches out for the menu closer to him. “So, what do you want to eat?”

**ACT I SCENE II**

“Are we really going to go along with whatever Taeil’s playing at?” Taeyong asked as he chewed on the fries in his mouth. Their food had arrived barely ten minutes ago and Taeyong moved to sit across Jaehyun than beside him, finding it awkward to be so near to him when he could move.

Jaehyun shrugged as he picked on his slider. “I mean, do we have a choice?”

He didn’t see the point of Taeil’s scheme. What he was asking from Taeyong and Jaehyun was just another exercise. It didn’t guarantee that Taeyong and Jaehyun were going to find a way for Taeil to stop nitpicking.

But then again, practice made perfect. So he kind of understood how Taeil ended with this conclusion.

“Yes? We can _not_ do it.” Taeyong said, snickering as he said the obvious.

“Look, I don’t like this, too, but it’s Taeil.” he sighed. “He’s crazy like that. The best we can do is get through this night and hope he forgets about it by Monday.”

“Are you saying I’m undateable?” Taeyong feigned an offended expression and Jaehyun’s eyes widened at his poor choice of words. Before he could attempt to redeem himself, Taeyong laughs, shaking his head that he was teasing. “I’m kidding, don’t worry.”

“I really didn’t mean it like that.” still, Jaehyun felt like he needed to tell Taeyong something to take back his poorly-chosen words.

Taeyong chuckled, pushing another fry in his mouth. Jaehyun glances at Taeyong’s plate, noticing that his fries were close to finished, so he takes as much of his untouched fries that his hand can carry and drops it onto Taeyong’s plate.

Taeyong’s eyes widen at the gesture, making Jaehyun chuckle, a smile big enough to make his dimple visible. “Take them. It’s fine.”

Taeyong doesn’t answer, just takes another fry and bites on it. He looks around the diner as he chews, Jaehyun’s eyes watching over him as he bites on his slider. Taeyong looks like he’s studying the diner, contemplating if he was going to say what he was thinking or not.

Taeyong hums. “Taeil likes it here a lot.”

“He does.” Jaehyun nodded. “But what makes you say that?”

Taeyong’s eyes lower from the displays on the wall behind Jaehyun to his quote-unquote boyfriend. He chuckles, reaching for another fry. “This is the second time he’s asked me here for one of his social experiments.”

Jaehyun chuckled. “Glad to know this isn’t your first.”

Taeyong snorted. “How could it be my first? I’ve been acting under him for four years now.”

“What’s the wildest so far?” Jaehyun asked, partly genuinely curious and partly to have something to talk about. Taeil really wasn’t a stranger to strange methods, even Jaehyun has fallen victim to his friend’s weird antics a couple of times, both in and out of theatre.

“This one, no doubt.” Taeyong answered with a shake of his head, then he laughs. “But before today, the wildest one has to be the one he pulled on me during sophomore year. It was actually pretty smart, but I was what? 14? 15? Hell, even now, if he pulled it on me, I’d be in tears.”

Taeyong laughed as he spoke, and Jaehyun kept a smile on, listening to Taeyong with undivided attention as the older looked farther away into his memories. “It was a murder mystery play. I was the one who was going to find the body, but no matter what I did, I just couldn’t get him to approve my performance. He called me in after practice, saying that he wanted to give me a one-on-one on my acting. I didn’t know that he could act, but I still went. He was stage manager, I had to.”

Jaehyun’s brow twitched. Taeil couldn’t act. Not now and certainly not before. A corner of his lips tugged upwards as Taeyong continued his story. “Anyways, I get to the green room, maybe an hour or so after practice had ended, and Taeil wasn’t there. The lights were off, and the cooler was on, so it was plenty cold. I turn on the lights and...”

Taeyong pauses to draw in a breath before puffing it out, wincing as he remembers what happened. Jaehyun almost feels bad for Taeyong, seeing the fright in his eyes, but he stops himself from speaking when Taeyong lets out a short laugh. “In the middle of the green room was Jungwoo, bloodied and a knife on his back. Oh God, I was _terrified_. I barely even noticed him breathing when I took him in my arms and called for Taeil, or anyone, even.”

Jaehyun’s smiled tugs upwards a little more, seeing how Taeyong shivered as he shook his head. “Taeil is an asshole, I swear to God. I burst into tears when I found out it was one of Taeil’s tricks.”

Taeyong finished his story with a wave of his hand, a fry pinched between his fingers. “But I’m over it. He’s done worse to others.”

Jaehyun chuckled, only then realizing that he’s leaned forward towards Taeyong but he made no move to straighten his posture now that he’s aware of it. He kept his arms folded on top of the table as he leaned over them, smiling at the other boy. “Well, I’m honoured that I outdid your trip to murder street.”

“Oh, you better be.” Taeyong laughed before settling his eyes on Jaehyun’s. “How about you? Any memorable Taeil episodes?”

Jaehyun hummed, his lips pursed as he looks above Taeyong’s head, trying to think of any other time he’s been a victim to Taeil’s ploys. “It won’t beat a bloody Jungwoo, but it was for a romantic comedy, a few months back.”

Taeyong nodded his head, telling Jaehyun that he remembered that play. His lips tug upwards as he pushes a couple of fries in his mouth. Jaehyun chuckles as he continues. “He had this weird phase where he wanted to try method acting, so all of us had to act our parts at all times, even in class. As long as we were in school grounds, we were playing a character.”

Taeyong’s eyes flash in recognition, and he chortles. “I remember Lucas getting sent to the guidance office for bursting into tears during class. Something about having a dream about his heart being broken and wanting nothing more than to cut his red string of faith. Something like that.”

Jaehyun laughed, vague memories of Lucas’s trip to the guidance office coming to mind. “Oh, God, that was funny. People thought that Jungwoo and Lucas broke up; Jungwoo could barely live down the stares that Lucas’s fans were giving.”

Now that they think about it, Jungwoo should be given some sort of award for somehow always being pulled into Taeil’s schemes, whether he’s aware of it or not.

“What happened to you, then?” Taeyong asked, no evidence of faux interest and Jaehyun realizes that they’re both as interested in the conversation.

Jaehyun chuckled. “My character was Lucas’s ex, right? I had to go to the guidance office and demand that I talk to Lucas. We had a throw of lines there, him accusing me of not loving him enough and me saying that he loved me too much. Ah, it was this and that, but it was plenty embarrassing since Lucas is one of my close friends. Imagine having heated conversations like that with someone you consider your brother. In school. And his boyfriend is _also_ your friend.”

“Well, imagine being boyfriends with someone you’d otherwise consider a stranger.” Taeyong shot back, playfully, as he pointed a fry at Jaehyun before chuckling and putting it in his mouth.

Jaehyun laughed in return, nodding. He took another bite of his slider, feeling lighter now that Taeyong and he were able to keep a conversation. He’d honestly forgotten that they were in the middle of one of Taeil’s ploys despite them talking about them.

**ACT I SCENE III**

It’s almost 9 at night. Jaehyun and Taeyong were on their second round of milkshakes whilst they ate their dessert. They still had a little over two hours before they could call it a night, and they’ve long passed the topic of Taeil and his shenanigans, falling into chatter of everyone else in the drama club or their past plays.

Jaehyun had found out that Taeyong also rapped on the sidelines. He was too shy to show Jaehyun, but Jaehyun could see the way his eyes sparkled as he talked about it, and he found that it was not unlike the way Taeyong’s eyes shone when he talked about theatre.

Taeyong found out that Jaehyun had an amazing voice, because unlike Taeyong, Jaehyun managed to sing a few lines for his quote-unquote ‘boyfriend’ when s song they both liked played over the speakers. Taeyong almost cooed at how soft Jaehyun looked, eyes closed as he lost himself in the simple melody of the pop song he sang. He wouldn’t have thought that Jaehyun had such a talent, but now that he knew about it, a surge of appreciation flowed through Taeyong.

“Let’s try something.” Jaehyun suggested after he sipped on the straw of his banana milkshake.

Taeyong raised a brow at him, lips curled around the straw of his own milkshake as he drank the strawberry drink. He didn’t stop drinking, just waving his hand as a way to tell Jaehyun to carry on.

“Let’s do that ice-breaker thing that Johnny likes.”

Taeyong lets go of the straw, raising a brow as his fingers pinched on his straw and dragged it in circles to stir his milkshake. “That ‘tell me something you like about me’ thing he keeps making us do?”

“Do you want to start or me?” Jaehyun said, his dimple showing as he smiled.

Taeyong pursed his lips. They’ve never partnered for this ice breaker before, so this is this first time playing together. He didn’t really take the ice-breakers seriously, since their purpose was to lighten the atmosphere and familiarize themselves with each other as a cast. He focused on the first part, lightening the atmosphere. But now he was in front of Jaehyun, who he had to familiarize himself with so that they would hopefully have a better chance of pleasing Taeil and the others with their performance.

He thought back to everything he knew about Jaehyun, deciding to go for something he knew before tonight, not that the night gave him a chapter-full of new information about Jaehyun.

He didn’t know anything too deep about Jaehyun. He never felt compelled to, since he never really paid attention to the younger boy. They really weren’t close, so knowing minutiae things about him would have been unusual for Taeyong.

“Hmm... I like your smile.” Taeyong started, eyes darting to the curve of Jaehyun’s lips before taking another sip of his milkshake.

Jaehyun almost snorted at how basic Taeyong’s statement was. He pointed at himself, specifically his smile, which grew at Taeyong’s words. “My smile?”

Taeyong nodded as he gulped down the cold drink. “Yeah. It’s cute.”

“Well, _boyfriend_ , you make me smile.” Jaehyun winked, earning a cringed wince from Taeyong as the latter wrinkles his nose in fake distaste. He let the title slip, knowing Jaehyun was only teasing, easing into whatever character or relationship Taeil had pseudo-forced them into playing.

“Your turn.”

Jaehyun’s eyes comb over Taeyong’s features. He sees the way Taeyong looks away from him in a moment of embarrassment and couldn’t hide his amusement. He knows how shy Taeyong can get when he gets complimented on his looks— and that was about everything he knew about Taeyong, honestly. Taeyong was a good person, anyone can see that, but he wasn't the kindest. He was sarcastic and had a cynical response to almost everything, ready to throw a barb at anything and anyone he saw fit, sometimes with small intentions to offend but never too much. Taeyong was outspoken, no matter how timid he can get when his appearance was brought to light, and never holds himself back from spilling his thoughts especially when he knows he had to defend what he believed in. He had comments for everything, snaky and sarcastic. Always lighthearted and never too mean, but it was Taeyong's way of speaking and thinking and Jaehyun just now realized that he liked it.

“I like how you always speak your mind.” Jaehyun finally says.

Taeyong’s nose wrinkles again, this time with a chuckle, but still nigh a wince. “That’s stupid.”

“See?” Jaehyun’s eyes widened as he laughed. His tone was nothing sarcastic, purely the tone of someone whose point was proven without them doing anything, and that made Taeyong stifle his giggles.

“I like your smile, too, though.” Jaehyun added softly, eyes folding into half-moons.

Taeyong pursed his lips, feeling his ears heat up but he quickly brushes the thought away. He was never too keen on accepting praises on his appearance but Jaehyun said so with the utmost sincerity that Taeyong had no choice but to hear what was being said to him.

“It’s because my boyfriend’s smile makes me smile.” he commented as he bit on his lower lip to stifle his giggles.

**ACT I SCENE IV**

The diner emptied of people faster than Jaehyun and Taeyong realized. Before they knew it, they were finished with their dessert and an extra round of ice-cream and the clock struck 11. They made their way out of Limitless after informing the waitress that they were through; Jaehyun got Taeil’s card back from her, along with her giggly comments of how she thought she would have to lie to Taeil about them staying until the time they needed to.

“This okay?” Taeyong asked before he reached out to help Jaehyun with his coat.

Jaehyun nods, lets his hands fall to his sides and lets Taeyong do what he’s doing with a phantom of a smile of his face.

Taeyong jests. “Good, because I’m kind of touchy and you’re going to have to deal with that.”

“Fine by me.” Jaehyun laughs and they make their way outside of the closing diner.

“Do you have a car?” Jaehyun asked as Taeyong tugged on his own coat, hugging the thick fabric close to his chest as the cold air of the late night bit on his arms.

The older shook his head. “Nah, I just walked here. Hence why I was late.”

Jaehyun takes his keys out of his pocket, throwing it in the air before catching it in the palm of his hand easily. “Hop on, I’ll drive you.”

He doesn’t let Taeyong protest. With the hand that wasn’t holding his car keys, he guides Taeyong by the waist to his car, parked not twenty steps away from Limitless. Taeyong takes small steps as he lets himself be guided blindly. He has no idea what Jaehyun’s car looked like, so he doesn't know what he was looking for. He doesn't even remember to protest when he felt a hand on his side, its warmth seeping past his clothes and reaching his skin just enough for him to feel.

Jaehyun stops in front of a clearly well-kept car, and Taeyong reaches for the handle of the door, not realizing that Jaehyun does the same. They’re hands touch, and they both draw back equally as fast, Taeyong sucking in a breath as he fingers brushed against the back of Jaehyun’s. His skin felt cold but warm at the same time and it made Taeyong’s heart skip a beat.

Jaehyun gets over his surprise, reaching out for a second time and opening the door for Taeyong. A dimple pops into Taeyong's view as Jaehyun smiles gently. “Get in. It’s time you get home.”

Taeyong stifled a smile as he gets inside the car. He nibbled on his bottom lip as he watched Jaehyun walk around the front of the car to get to the driver’s seat, throwing and catching his keys in the air as he hopped inside next to Taeyong. Taeyong mentally noted Jaehyun's habit with his keys and wondered if Jaehyun was prone to losing them.

“So where am I taking you?” Jaehyun asked as his car buzzed to life. Taeyong told him his address, and Jaehyun nodded before driving. The car ride was quiet, but it was comfortable for both parties. When Jaehyun was confused on a turn, he’d ask Taeyong, who answered. The radio was on but the volume was dialed down, plainly whispers of late night melodies that circled the space of the car.

They reach a red light, and Taeyong’s eyes are trained outside. He was watching some birds by the sidewalk, a little smile on his face, seemingly a permanent fixture on his mouth. Jaehyun found himself staring at Taeyong, taking note of the older’s features— the curve of his nose and the subtle puff of his cheeks, the small scar under his temple, the natural swell of his lips. Taeyong was good-looking, it was a given, but this was the first time that Jaehyun allowed himself to understand exactly how handsome Taeyong was.

“The light is green.” Taeyong said, eyes never leaving the group of birds he was watching.

Jaehyun blinks, ears instantly burning from having been caught staring. He clears his throat, training his eyes back on the road. “Uh, right.”

Taeyong chuckles, the soft sound battling the low sound of the radio in the car.

When they get to Taeyong’s apartment complex, Jaehyun goes to open Taeyong’s door for him, only to find that the older stepped out of the car himself. Holding on to the door of the car, Taeyong laughs timidly. “I’m sorry, you should have told me you wanted to open the door for me.”

Jaehyun chuckled as he took the door from Taeyong’s hands and closed it himself. “So much for being a good boyfriend.”

Taeyong schooled an offended look, putting a hand to his heart. “Excuse me? I’m not a bad boyfriend.”

“I meant me, beau.” Jaehyun teased with a quick wink, to which Taeyong’s nose wrinkled again. They shared a gentle laugh, Taeyong’s hand somehow ending up on Jaehyun’s forearm in place of the car door.

Jaehyun’s head tilts a few degrees as he once again gets caught up in Taeyong’s features. He had a great time tonight, surprisingly. He never would have thought that he’d be on a date with Lee Taeyong, but here he was, taking him home after they’ve enjoyed what otherwise would have been just another one of Taeil’s experiments.

But it was as good a first date as any. Two people getting to know each other and having a good time, trying to see if they were compatible or not. Jaehyun thinks that he and Taeyong are pretty compatible, if he does say so himself.

“I had fun tonight.” Jaehyun exhaled once their laughter had died down.

Taeyong’s lips meet in the middle as he nods, humming. “I did, too. I had fun. It was nice.”

“So, boyfriends?” Jaehyun asked, mostly for the sake of another round of teasing, but he finds his heart skipping a beat when Taeyong nods.

“Boyfriends, then.” Taeyong said. “Hopefully it really would help with our acting.”

Jaehyun nods, noticing how Taeyong leaned closer to him, tugging him forward by his forearm, just enough for him to barely feel the touch. Taeyong’s eyes drop to Jaehyun’s lips, and Jaehyun’s breath hitches when he gets an idea of what Taeyong was thinking of.

They were actors, they had to play a part, right?

Jaehyun leans forward as well, almost shocked when he feels Taeyong’s breath ghosting over his.

Taeyong sees Jaehyun’s eyes close, and he had to stop himself from letting out a giggle. He was nervous of how Jaehyun would react, but he couldn’t back down now. Besides, he was adequately confident that if he wrinkled his nose enough, Jaehyun would brush this off.

Jaehyun leans forward when Taeyong doesn’t make a move, and his lips land on something soft. It wasn’t a pair of lips, so in his confusion, he blinks his eyes open. His puzzled eyes meet Taeyong’s cheeky ones, peeking out from under his hand, the back of which Jaehyun’s lips ended up kissing.

Taeyong’s shoulders shake as he stifles his laughs, and Jaehyun wonders why he didn’t feel Taeyong’s hand leave his forearm. Jaehyun lifts his lips from Taeyong’s hand, the older dropping his arm to his side after another second of laughing behind it.

“I don’t kiss on the first date.” Taeyong said with a coy wink. He lets out a quick laugh, seeing the look of utter jest mixed with slight offense on his face.

Jaehyun lets out a disbelieving breath, shaking his head when Taeyong wrinkles his nose at him teasingly.

“On our second, then.” Jaehyun says as he takes Taeyong’s hand in his, the one he didn’t kiss, and brings it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on his knuckles as he returns Taeyong’s wink with one of his own.

Taeyong gulps when his heart skips a beat. He purses his lips, waiting for Jaehyun to drop his hand before he speaks. A small, barely there smile plays on his lips as he takes a step back from Jaehyun.

“Good night, Jaehyun.” he says. “Get home safe.”

“Sleep well, beau.” Jaehyun whispered, still rather teasingly.

Taeyong rolls his eyes at the name but nods, turning around and walking inside the apartment complex. Jaehyun waits for Taeyong to disappear into the apartment complex before he enters his car and starts his drive home.

Taeyong enters his unit, dramatically leaning against the back of his door as he holds his hands to his chest. His breathing was short and shallow, and he feels as if his hands are throbbing, the skin that Jaehyun’s lips have touched felt like they were burned.

He takes deep breaths, partly confused as to why he was so out of breath and partly astonished at how he still had a sliver of air in his system after Jaehyun had kissed his hands and at how Jaehyun had leaned in with the intention of kissing him. But even so, Taeyong still had a fond smile on his face, which confused him.

With furrowed brows, he pushes himself off his door and heads to his bedroom.

**ACT II SCENE I**

Monday rolls by quick. It’s been a good hour since classes have let out and extracurriculars take over the classrooms and facilities. The auditorium is bustling with energy as members of the drama club’s props committee prepare the props needed for the school play, accompanied by the handful students that drama teachers have given detention to, and therefore have been told to help out.

Two boys are seated in the middle seats of the auditorium, skimming through their scripts and practicing lines. They pay no mind to the noise outside of their seats, focused on each other and playing their characters to perfection.

“I still don’t understand this.” Sicheng sighed as he tapped his pencil on the edge of his script. His brows are furrowed as he read over his lines, trying to decipher as much as he could as Taeyong watched him.

Taeyong’s eyes rake over the breadth of the auditorium, looking for who could be of aid.

“I think I saw Doyoung here somewhere.” he said just as said male walked down the aisle and tapped Taeyong’s shoulder.

“I’m here.” he said as he sat down on the arm of Taeyong’s seat. “What’s up?”

Sicheng smiled when he saw Doyoung. He held up his script, his arm going past Taeyong and towards Doyoung, who took it in his hands. Taeyong sat quietly and focused on his own script, he looked at the words that Sicheng had trouble with, listening intently.

“I don’t understand the scene. I can’t get the emotions right.” Sicheng said as Doyoung nodded along.

Taeyong’s eyes once again rake over the breadth of the auditorium. He sees Jisung and Chenle laughing as they painted a backdrop of a living room despite Chenle being in the technical committee, but he was an overly helpful person, it wasn’t unusual for him to volunteer when he had other things to do already. He saw Renjun and Donghyuck seated on the end of the stage, going over their lines. He could even see the scowl on Renjun’s face and Donghyuck’s passive smile, the two deep into their scene. Mark was in between them, a script of his own in his hand whilst he nodded along to the two. He sees Johnny and Jungwoo walking along the stage and front aisle, checking over the props and watching over the students in detention. Taeyong meets eyes with Taeil as the older walks over to them, a small skip in his step.

“Taeyong! I was looking all over for you!” Taeil beamed as he sat on the seat in front of Taeyong, a clearly proud smile on his face.

Sicheng’s brow twitches at the sight. He glances at Taeyong, before back at Taeil. “Oh no. I know that look. Goodness, Taeil.”

Taeyong snorted at Sicheng’s monotonous reaction. He knew the boy well enough to know that he meant to be anything but nonchalant.

Taeil looked at Sicheng whilst he laughed. “What?”

“You’re putting poor Taeyong through another one of your weird antics.” Sicheng said as he hugged Taeyong to his chest, brows furrowed at Taeil in mock frustration.

Doyoung puts the script down and looks between Taeyong and Taeil. “Oh, right. You had dinner at Limitless last Friday. How’d that go?”

“That’s why I’m here.” Taeil said, a fraction of a smirk making an appearance.

“You weren’t with them?” Doyoung asked.

“I wouldn’t want to third wheel.” Taeil shrugged before he looked back at Taeyong, who was still held by Sicheng. “So, Taeyong, how’d your date go?”

“Date?” Sicheng gasped, a mix of exaggerated and fake, as he pushed Taeyong away from his chest to look at the latter better. “Lee Taeyong, why do I not know about this?”

Taeyong rolled his eyes and slunk in his seat, his thumb pressing on the paper of his script. “Shut up. Ask Jaehyun.”

Taeyong recalls the little trick he played on Jaehyun at the end of the night. He remembers how his skin felt like it was on fire after Jaehyun had kissed his hands. He was sure that it was supposed a painful type of burn, but the numbing in his hands were anything but painful. A touch of a blush blossoms on the apples of his cheeks. Sicheng was the only one close enough to see it, but if he did, he made no comment about it.

Sicheng gasped again, a hand on his heart for dramatics. “Jaehyun? Taeyong, I didn’t know you were into him. How _dare_ you not tell me?”

Taeyong rolls his eyes again, pressing his finger on Sicheng’s shoulder and pushing him away. He couldn’t remember the last time one of Sicheng’s annoyingly teasing smiles were directed his way.

“Wait, I’m confused.” Doyoung says. His brows are furrowed as he looked at Taeyong and Taeil. Taeil never told him what he was planning, and in all honesty, he forgot to ask. He figured that Taeil would tell him on his own, since he always spilled the details of his shenanigans to Doyoung even when he wasn’t part of the play at all.

Taeil smiled even bigger, not unlike a child who did something outrageous and thought he would be praised for it. Now that Taeyong thought of it, Taeil really was much like a child.

“I am, too.” Taeyong exhaled as he paged through his script. He knows that if Taeil talked more, his blush would go from a subtle pink to a fiery red, spreading from the apples of his cheeks to the tips of his ears. Everyone knows how shy Taeyong can be, and Taeyong knows how annoying Sicheng can be when he starts teasing.

Just the thought of it made Taeyong want to groan, so he did, bringing his script to his face, throwing his head back, and letting out a pre-annoyed groan. He expected a round of chuckles, but none came, just a warm hand on his shoulder and a presence on the back of his seat.

Then there it was, the chuckle, as another hand held on to the script on his face and carefully pushing it away from his face. “What’s got you so frustrated, beau?”

The lack of paper in his eyes made way for Taeyong to see a smiling Jaehyun looking down at him from where he was standing behind Taeyong’s seat. He’d have to have a talk with Mark about keeping the lights in the auditorium too bright, the light coming from the back of Jaehyun’s head made his eyes hurt.

Taeil chokes back a squeal. From the corner of his eye, Taeyong sees Doyoung purse his lips and not-so subtly stand from where he was seated on the arm of Taeyong’s seat. He then walks one row forward, sitting on the arm of Taeil’s chair instead.

“He was telling us about your _date_.” Sicheng said with a teasing grin as Jaehyun sat where Doyoung was.

Jaehyun’s hand never left Taeyong’s shoulder. Neither of them made a move to remove it even as Jaehyun chuckled, tilting his head to smile at Taeyong. “Then why’d you look pissed, beau?”

Taeyong looked up at Jaehyun with a small pout. Jaehyun really was taking this seriously, if not playfully. He can’t bring himself to play along, not when a hiccup was threatening to leave his mouth because of how ragged his heart was beating.

“Beau.” Doyoung croaked out in lieu of a squeal.

“I see it went well.” Taeil jests, eyeing Taeyong and Jaehyun. Then with furrowed brows, he looks at Jaehyun alone. “Hey, where’s my card?”

Jaehyun laughs, taking his hand from Taeyong’s shoulder and reaching into his jacket pocket. He takes his wallet out and pulls out Taeil’s credit card, tossing it in his direction. Taeil wasn’t a good catch, so he was thankful when Doyoung caught it for him without even blinking. Doyoung hands it to Taeil, who slips it inside his own wallet.

Sicheng is impatient with the lack of details, so he shakes Taeyong by the arm, demanding a relay of events. “Tell me, tell me! How was your date?”

“I...” Taeyong managed to say despite being shaken. He didn’t know what Sicheng wanted him to say. He was smart enough to know that they were being set-up by their crazy stage manager (even if he wasn’t, it’s still painfully obvious that they were), so why was he so worked up with wanting to know the details of what otherwise isn’t supposed to be considered a date?

There’s a hand on his shoulder again, steadying him. Sicheng stops shaking Taeyong when Jaehyun holds Taeyong still.

The hiccup finally leaves Taeyong’s system when he feels the burning sensation on his shoulder. Again, he thinks that a burn like that should be painful but he just feels warm.

Taeil gushes. “I think the date went well.”

“You can say that.” Taeyong resigned, nibbling on his lip.

Jaehyun chuckled, squeezing Taeyong’s shoulder. Another hiccup threatens to escape. “Would’ve been better if I wasn’t teased for a kiss I never even got.”

“A kiss.” Doyoung croaked, much like how he did earlier. Taeyong hiccups again.

Taeyong narrows his eyes at Jaehyun, hitting him on the stomache when his glare was met with a cheeky grin. Jaehyun’s hand moves from Taeyong’s shoulder to Taeyong’s nape, keeping Taeyong’s head in place.

“You’re hiccupping, beau.” Jaehyun said with a small smile. “Do you want a bottle for water?”

“Aww...” Sicheng cooed. He turns to Taeil. “Taeil, this is your best scheme yet.”

Taeyong blinks. Jaehyun simpers and stands, his hand leaving Taeyong’s nape as he walks away. He watches Jaehyun walk down the aisle and make his way to the front of the stage where three coolers were laid, one of which was filled with water bottles, where the other two were varieties of juice.

“Taeyong, you’re blushing.” Doyoung chuckled. Another hiccup leaves Taeyong’s lips. Sicheng laughs before his hand. He knows what the hiccups mean.

Jaehyun gets back to Taeyong with a bottle of water in his hand. He sits back down on the arm of the chair Taeyong was seated on and opens the bottle for Taeyong before giving it to him.

“Thank you.” Taeyong muttered before taking a sip.

“I’m glad you two are taking this seriously.” Taeil said, a touch of sincerity in his voice. “I know I’m outrageous but give it a shot, yeah? This will help with your acting.”

Taeyong wanted to close the water bottle but realized that Jaehyun was holding the cap. Jaehyun notices, and takes the bottle from Taeyong again and closes the bottle, not giving it back to Taeyong and just holding it for him.

Taeyong pressed his lips together. “We talked about it last night. It’s like improv, right? We’re supposed to be playing husbands, so being boyfriends is the next best thing.”

Doyoung’s brow twitched. “Taeil, why didn’t you get them hitched instead?”

“We’re minors, it’s illegal.” Taeil groaned, making it painfully obvious that getting Taeyong and Jaehyun married was his initial plan. Jaehyun does not want to ask if Taeil would really push through with it if he was given the chance.

Taeyong glances at the water bottle, feeling bad for having Jaehyun go and get it for him then hold it, too. He wasn’t accustomed to people doing things for him, much less people he wasn’t all too familiar with. He didn’t even ask for water and Jaehyun went and got a bottle for him. He was pretty sure that his hiccups weren’t the ones that came out of nowhere and would disappear with hanging upside down or a good scare, and surely not after a drink of water.

Jaehyun sees where Taeyong’s eyes are, and he lets out a soft laugh. He lifts the water bottle and presses the side of it to Taeyong’s forehead. Taeyong blinks when he feels the cold on his forehead and he leans back to take his skin from the chilly.

He lets out a small laugh as he meets eyes with Jaehyun. He makes a move to take the water bottle from him, but Jaehyun moves it back onto his lap and shakes his head at Taeyong, telling him that he wasn’t going to touch the bottle unless he wanted a sip.

Doyoung croaks again, this time without any syllables to accompany it.

Sicheng squeals, kicking at the floor as he watched the interaction. “You’re so cute, aww!”

“See! They’re acting better already!” Taeil said proudly as he gestured at the two.

**ACT II SCENE II**

Sicheng, Doyoung, and Taeil have left for the stage, going over a scene that Renjun and Sicheng had. Jaehyun took Sicheng’s seat next to Taeyong. He looked over Taeyong’s shoulder and down at his script, his eyes gazing over the little notes that Taeyong wrote all on the spaces by the ends of the typewritten texts. The water bottle had gone lukewarm in Jaehyun’s hold, Taeyong already finishing a better half of its contents.

Taeyong reaches for the water bottle in Jaehyun’s hand, his own clenching and unclenching in a grabbing gesture that Jaehyun tried hard not to coo at. He allows himself a second too long to admire the way Taeyong eyed the bottle, his hand still making the grabbing gesture he was doing. He chuckled, opening the bottle and tucking the lid in his palm before handing Taeyong the water.

“Thank you.” Taeyong said before tipping his head back to take a sip. Jaehyun feels a pain on his lower lip, and that’s when he realizes that he was biting on his lip as he watched Taeyong drink to stop himself from smiling too much.

Taeyong gives Jaehyun back the bottle, its contents almost empty. Jaehyun chuckles again, his dimple making an appearance.

Jaehyun just nods and looks to the stage. He sees Donghyuck as he enters from stage left, cutting Renjun off from his dialogue as his voice cut through the auditorium. Chenle and Jisung giggle from the back part of the stage, still busy painting whilst they watched rehearsals.

Taeyong’s eyes drift to the stage as well. He recognizes the scene as the one before the scene they were rehearsing when Taeil got his ‘great idea’. Sicheng would exit through stage left in a few minutes, leaving a hyper-active Donghyuck and exasperated Renjun. Jaehyun and Taeyong, their parents, will walk in through stage right. They were going to stop before Jaehyun and Taeyong were set to enter, though, so they stayed still in their seats.

The bottle of water is taken from Jaehyun’s hands, but the boy is too engrossed in watching the stage to notice until the water bottle is being pressed on the side of his neck, the liquid in the bottle not nearly cold enough to illicit a notable reaction from Jaehyun, but the contact was enough for Jaehyun to turn to Taeyong, who was once again giggling.

Taeyong gives the water bottle to Jaehyun, knowing he’d take it back one way or another. He leans back on his seat, relaxing as he turns his eyes back to the stage where Donghyuck and Renjun have started bickering. “Do you want to go out for some ice-cream later?”

The question takes Jaehyun off-guard. His head whips to Taeyong, eyes casting over his side-profile to try deciphering if Taeyong was serious or playing another trick on him. If he was, Jaehyun was sure he can try to turn it around.

“That... sounds nice.” Jaehyun answered, the tips of his lips tugging upwards. “Is it our second date?”

Taeyong chuckled and turned to him. He tilted his head to the side, pressing his arm on the armrest between him and Jaehyun to lean forward. He wrinkled his nose playfully. “Why? Are you looking forward to a kiss?”

Jaehyun matches his laugh, leaning forward as well. Their noses were barely three fingers’ width away, but the two played enough roles to not get flustered.

“Is it so bad to want a kiss from my beau?’ Jaehyun taunted, eyes flickering down to Taeyong’s lips for effect.

Taeyong felt another hiccup caught in his throat, but he quickly gulped it down. He mused. “I don’t know. Is it?”

Jaehyun let out a soft laugh, eyes flicking down to Taeyong’s lips again, who had his lower lip jutting out just a bit as he taunted Jaehyun as much as he was Taeyong. “So if I kiss you... you’d let me?”

“I said I don’t kiss on the first date.” Taeyong said, leaning a little bit closer. Their noses were two fingers’ width apart now. “It’s not going to be our first, now, is it?”

Jaehyun hummed. “I didn’t say I’ll go for ice-cream.”

“So you’re rejecting me, then?” Taeyong pouted properly, his teasing eyes morphing into those of a puppy’s, albeit still playfully. “I thought you wanted to be a good boyfriend.”

“I think you’d enjoy fries more, beau.” Jaehyun breathed out. Seeing Taeyong’s puppy eyes up close and without warning was enough to knock the breath out of him. “Should we go to Limitless?”

Taeyong hummed, a ghost of a smile playing on his features. “Fries sound good. And Limitless has ice-cream, too, so it’s a win-win.”

The air stands still between the tip of Taeyong’s nose and Jaehyun’s. An unspoken challenge between them sings in the back of their throats, the corners of their lips tugging in wry smiles and teasing smirks. Whether the challenge was to lean back or lean forward, neither of them were sure.

What were they doing? Three days ago, they barely spoke and now here they were, teasing each other with kisses and winks. They must be as out of their minds as Taeil is.

“Alright, lovebirds, stop flirting!” Doyoung said from the front of the stage, a megaphone in hand. Jaehyun and Taeyong jolt, leaning as far away as possible whilst they look anywhere but the other. Johnny, stood next to Doyoung, doesn’t bother to stifle his snicker as Jaehyun’s and Taeyong’s blushes were on full display for everyone inside the auditorium.

Donghyuck squeals from where he’s standing on stage, sharing a look with an equally gushing Chenle. Chenle’s cheeks were covered in streaks of brown, Jisung’s in white, the paint colour in their brushes matching perfectly. They were scolded by Jungwoo for wasting paint, but the damage has already been done to their cheeks and necks, not that there were any consequences for the two freshmen to reap.

Jaehyun clears his throat, looking further into the wall as a useless attempt to kill the blush creeping all over his cheeks and ears. Taeyong’s hand clenches and unclenches from where it’s laid on his lap, desperate for a gulp of water in hopes of calming down.

Taeil laughs, standing from his seat on the front row, raising his voice enough to cover the distance from the front of the stage to the middle part of the auditorium, where Taeyong and Jaehyun are seated. “You two look cute!”

Doyoung laughs, bringing the megaphone back to his mouth. “Okay, guys, that’s all for today. Have a great weekend.”

**ACT II SCENE III**

Jaehyun and Taeyong are sat on their booth from last night, laughing and giggling as Taeyong chews on his fries and Jaehyun sips on his strawberry-banana smoothie. They’ve spent the better part of the hour telling stories, getting to know each other, throwing comments and jokes around like they’ve been doing it for years. As a part of Taeil’s scheme, they said, but that thought quickly went down the drain when not even ten minutes later, they’d tell nonsense stories and go for a fit of laughter after a bounty of giggles.

“You know,” Taeyong wheezed between short giggles. “I never really imagined we’d be in this situation.”

“What situation?” Jaehyun’s eyes were twinkling with laugher. He’d barely calmed down, taking deep breaths before sipping on his smoothie in fear that the cold drink would refuse to go down his throat and back up from his nose.

“This.” Taeyong laughed, just about ending his giggle fit and taking a deep breath to better attempt to form coherent sentences. The reason he and Jaehyun had been laughing so much in the first place is lost in Taeyong’s memory already. “In Limitless. Laughing over stupid stories and drinking milkshakes and sharing fries. I never would have imagined.”

Jaehyun chuckled. “Well, that’s not our situation now.”

“Mn?” Taeyong debated whether to furrow his brows or raise one, but before he could do either, Jaehyun spoke again.

“We’re not sharing fries, beau.” Jaehyun said with a tilt of his head and a teasing smirk.

Taeyong let out another series of chortles, reaching for a fry and popping it in his mouth. “Yes, we are. You just haven’t had any.”

Jaehyun hums and takes the straw of his drink between his lips. Taeyong pouts, reaches for another fry and raises it to level with Jaehyun’s lips. Jaehyun raises a brow, still sipping on his straw. Taeyong juts his lower lips out a little more, shaking the fry in his hand ever-so slightly.

“Ah.” he said, voice small and adorable.

Jaehyun releases the straw, brow still raised at Taeyong before flicking his eyes down to the fry.

Taeyong shakes the fry again, bringing it closer to Jaehyun’s lips. “Ahh~”

Jaehyun simpers and opens his mouth, waiting for Taeyong to put the fry in his mouth before biting on it.

“See?” Taeyong mooned in accomplishment before chewing on a fry of his own. “We’re sharing fries.”

Jaehyun hummed again, swallowing. He gives a cheeky smirk before opening his mouth again “Ah.”

Taeyong blinks, his eyes closing at the same second his heart skips a beat. Then he lets out a snort, reaching for a fry and raising it to Jaehyun’s lips again to feed him.

“You know, PDA isn’t always a socially acceptable thing.” Taeyong jokes after feeding Jaehyun another fry. He smiles when Jaehyun’s lips curl around the fry before it disappears into his mouth.

Jaehyun laughs. “Socially acceptable is boring. I just want my boyfriend to feed me.”

Taeyong’s eyes sparkle in unlaughed giggles as he reaches for another fry. “Well, your boyfriend is happy to feed you all the fries you want.”

**ACT II SCENE IV**

The sun is about to set when Taeyong and Jaehyun leave Limitless, deep orange and pink casting shadows over their features lightly. The cold air of the city bites on Taeyong’s arms, leaving him to rub his palms over his pale skin in an attempt to warm himself.

Taeyong is walking half a step ahead, Jaehyun talking about one of the waitresses in Limitless and how she’d often slip extra fries for them when she could and Taeyong had whined that he _had_ to meet her because he could never say no to more fries.

Jaehyun notices Taeyong feeling chilly, the way his shoulders shook lightly made his back shift as well. He takes his hand away from the small of Taeyong’s lower back that he had his palm pressed on— a habit that either of them are yet to take notice of— and takes his jacket off.

When Taeyong feels the warm part of his back feel cold, the corners of his lips tugs downward, and he looks back to see Jaehyun shrugging his jacket off.

“You’re not feeling cold?” Taeyong asked in absolute disbelief. Jaehyun doesn’t answer, just smiles at him as he holds his jacket up by its shoulders.

“Come here.” Jaehyun said, looking at Taeyong solemnly.

“What?” Taeyong’s brows furrowed, a dimple forming under the middle of his forehead.

Jaehyun shakes the jacket a little, urging Taeyong to come closer. “You’re cold. Put this on.”

Taeyong bit on his lower lip when he felt another hiccup wanting to come through. He’s learned to resent the hiccups because it made it painfully obvious that he was flustered. Jaehyun seemed to call on his hiccups easier than anyone ever could.

He lifts his hand, meaning to take Jaehyun’s jacket and put it on himself, but Jaehyun shakes his head playfully at him. With a flick of his wrists, the jacket is brought out of Taeyong’s reach.

“Come here.” Jaehyun repeats as he brings the jacket back in front of Taeyong. “Turn around.” he says next, smiling at Taeyong to do so.

Taeyong bites on his lip, bites down a hiccup and a smile simultaneously. He turns around, raising his hands to push his arms through the sleeves. Jaehyun doesn’t let go of the jacket’s shoulders until he’s sure that Taeyong was wearing his jacket properly, and his close proximity made Taeyong’s heart race.

Immediately Taeyong is overcome with the subtle scent of pine and mint, covered by the smell of the diner that stuck to them both. He lets himself be drowned in it, suddenly unbelievably warm now that he was comfortable in Jaehyun’s jacket.

Maybe it was more of Jaehyun and less of the jacket, Taeyong wasn’t sure.

“Let’s get you home.” Jaehyun whispered as he let go of the jacket’s shoulder, his hand once again finding the lower part of Taeyong’s back as he continued to walk to his car, bringing Taeyong to walk as well.

Jaehyun opens the car for Taeyong, but Taeyong doesn’t go inside. He turns around to face Jaehyun, the hand on his back keeping its place there. Jaehyun’s hold on him makes him take a step closer; he didn’t want Jaehyun to let go of him just yet.

“What?” Jaehyun asked, a playful glint in his eyes.

“I thought you wanted a kiss.” Taeyong said, his lips tugging upwards. He looks at Jaehyun, feeling warm all over because of Jaehyun’s jacket and Jaehyun’s hand and because of Jaehyun.

Jaehyun’s breath hitched in his throat. His brow twitched as he studied Taeyong’s gaze; his eyes were soft and gentle and a little playful and Jaehyun wanted to reach over and pinch his cheeks until they turned pink. He gave a small smirk. “Well, if you’ll give me one.”

Taeyong hummed, eyes glancing at Jaehyun’s lips. He chuckled, soft and gentle. “Come here, then.”

In a swift movement, his hand closes in on the collar of Jaehyun’s shirt and he pulls him down. He hears Jaehyun gasp as his lips land on Jaehyun’s cheek, giving him a firm kiss. Taeyong’s lips linger on Jaehyun’s cheek as he raises his feet enough to reach Jaehyun, feeling his own cheeks burning as his heels hit the floor again.

Taeyong chuckles at Jaehyun’s expression, his hand unclenching and laying limp on Jaehyun’s chest, just between his collarbones.

**ACT III SCENE I**

Taeyong enters his classroom, comfortable under the thick warm fabric of Jaehyun’s jacket half a size too big for him, making him look smaller than he actually is. He could almost laugh, he was sure that the jacket was also a tad bigger than Jaehyun’s actual size, but on him, he looked languid; on Taeyong, he looked small. The jacket smelled like Jaehyun’s perfume, something boyish and little bit stronger than Taeyong’s personal taste in scents, but he thought of Jaehyun whenever he gets a whiff of it so he doesn’t mind.

He sits down on his chair, checking his watch to see if he had a few minutes to spare to run to the vending machine and get a can of coffee. Before he could stand, though, a dramatic gasp reaches his ears as Sicheng makes his way over to Taeyong.

“Are my eyes deceiving me?” Sicheng said as he used the over-dramatic voice he saved for semantics (Taeyong had his fair share of this voice directed at him recently when usually he’d be stifling his laughs at whoever Sicheng decided to tease— he had enough self-respect not to laugh at himself though, so inted he stifles a roll of his eyes). “That’s Jaehyun’s jacket you’re wearing, my friend.”

“How’d you know?” Taeyong raised a brow.

Sicheng sinks into his seat next to Taeyong. “He was wearing that yesterday. I’m not _blind_.”

Taeyong rolls his eyes as Sicheng continues speaking. “And he wears that, like, once every two months or so.”

“Stalker.” Taeyong comments.

Sicheng laughs. “Don’t worry, Taeyong. You can keep your _beau_.”

Sicheng sings the name, voice teasing and cheeky as he tilts his head one side and another. He liked to tease Taeyong, especially now that he had something to tease with. He wanted to get back at Taeyong for always whispering in his ear about his crush on Yuta, but he won’t admit that just yet.

“I have no idea what you’re trying to imply.” Taeyong intones.

There’s a knock on the frame of their classroom door and Taeyong looks to see Jaehyun by the door, the hand he knocked with holding a can of coffee.

“Jaehyun, come here.” Sicheng beckons him, giving him permission he didn’t need to enter the classroom. Jaehyun pushes himself off the doorframe and walks to where Sicheng and Taeyong were seated. He doesn’t take a seat, instead places the can of coffee in the center of Taeyong’s desk and stays standing in front of him.

“Hey, beau.” Jaehyun smiled softly. “My jacket looks good on you.”

“You two are cute.” Sicheng laughed as he glanced at Taeyong.

“Good morning, Jaehyun.” Taeyong greeted. His fingers traced the side of the can, remembering that he was about to run out to get one himself. “What’s the coffee for?”

Jaehyun shrugged. “I actually don’t know... I was in my classroom with Lucas and just... thought you might want a can.”

Taeyong feels his ears heat up. “O-Oh... thanks, Jaehyun.”

Taeyong is internally grateful that he hadn’t told Sicheng that he was planning to run to the vending machine because he could almost hear Sicheng’s barbs about soulmates or whatever random things Sicheng pretends he’s not into but has a questionable knowledge about.

“I’ll be on my way.” Jaehyun says, both to Taeyong and Sicheng before ruffling Taeyong’s hair affectionately. “I’ll see you later, beau.”

“See you.” Taeyong answered, a small smile on his face as Jaehyun walks out of the classroom.

**ACT III SCENE II**

“Here’s your jacket back.” Taeyong said as he walked up to Jaehyun in the carpark. They finished with rehearsal and Jaehyun didn’t allow Taeyong to return it until the end of the day, not that Taeyong was devoted to the idea of giving it back right away.

Jaehyun smiles whilst he takes it from Taeyong and hangs it on his arm. Taeyong smiles. “Thanks for letting me borrow it.”

“I couldn’t have my beau getting cold, now, can I?” Jaehyun mused. It seemed that calling Taeyong ‘beau’ has become an instinct for Jaehyun. It didn’t help that Taeyong lived up to the name, being as handsome and breathtaking as he is.

“Your beau gets cold easy.” Taeyong mused with a habitual wrinkle of his nose. “So thank you for the jacket. It was really warm.”

Jaehyun opens his arms, setting the jacket on the hood of his car. Taeyong furrows his brows at the gesture, once again not understanding what Jaehyun wanted him to do. There’s the now-familiar curve of his lips that tells Taeyong that he’s in a playful mood and it’s up to Taeyong if he wanted to play along or not.

“Come here, Tae.” Jaehyun said with a short laugh. “You still look cold.”

Taeyong feels his blood rush to his ears as he takes a step forward. He feels Jaehyun’s arms wrap around his hips and he exhales as he wraps his around Jaehyun’s broad shoulders. He instantly feels warm thanks to the contact. Taeyong decides that he likes Jaehyun’s hugs.

“Do you want a ride home?” Jaehyun asked as he tightens his arms around Taeyong’s hips.

“Would it trouble you?” Taeyong asked, placing his chin on Jaehyun’s shoulder so that he could look at the younger. The tip of his nose is near Jaehyun’s cheek and Taeyong is almost tempted to cross the distance and nuzzle his nose to his cheek.

Jaehyun instantly shakes his head, leaning on the side of the car, taking Taeyong with him. Taeyong’s arms around his shoulders tense at the sudden tilt but he relaxes just as quickly. “Of course, not.”

“Then I’d love a ride.” Taeyong smiles, lifting his heels from the ground and placing a quick kiss on Jaehyun’s cheek before settling his own cheek back against his shoulder. “I hope kisses are enough for fare.”

Jaehyun barely registers Taeyong’s words, his cheek stinging with the memory of Taeyong’s kiss and he knows that his ears are blushing a dangerous colour of red. Taeyong was a tease, he figured it out that first date that Taeil set them up on, but Taeyong never tired of confirming that for him.

Jaehyun laughs, his hold on Taeyong still tight despite the older boy trying to move out of his arms. “More than enough, beau.”

**ACT IV SCENE I**

“Take five, guys!” Taeil says and cuts the scene short. On cue, Donghyuck dramatically falls to the floor, earning a chuckle from Mark, who was seated next to Yuta a few rows behind where Taeil and Doyoung were seated at the front. Sicheng was seated behind Doyoung, feet languidly propped up and back pressed on each of the armrests because he had no one next to him on either side. Jeno and Jaemin were seated next to each other on the front-row of the left section, closer to where most of Renjun’s blockings required for his scenes. Johnny and Jungwoo were seated a few seats away from Doyoung, still front-row.

“Did we do good?” Taeyong asked, Jaehyun’s hands not leaving his shoulders from where he was stood behind the couch Taeyong was seated on. He nibbled on his lower lip, not wanting another set of quibbles from Taeil. He and Jaehyun tried to take Taeil’s little scheme as seriously as lighthearted teasing and subtle flirting can go, so they were looking forward to some leniency from the stage manager.

Taeil beams, clearly impressed. “Yes! Amazing! I loved it!”

“Damn.” Jungwoo nodded sagely. “Taeil, you’re good.”

Jaehyun’s head dropped to look at Taeyong, leaning over the couch to properly smile at him. Jaehyun whispers like it’s a secret but his smile is still bright enough for the whole auditorium to see. “You hear that, beau? We _finally_ appeased him.”

Taeyong laughed, leaning closer to Jaehyun and instinctively giving him an eskimo kiss.

“Finally. I was ready to wring his neck.” he jests as he pulled away. Jaehyun chuckled, standing properly and taking his hands from Taeyong’s shoulders. He walks around the sofa and sits beside the boy, his arm instantly resting atop his shoulders.

A few days were more than enough for the two of them to get used to the constant skinship. As much as they protested, mostly internally, that Friday last week, they now believed that Taeil made more sense than they initially thought he did. Being a couple was natural to Taeyong and Jaehyun now, and anyone could see that their chemistry increased tenfold. It was unblameable if someone were to forget that they weren’t legit, even themselves.

Renjun snickers at the two and raises his hand up to his shoulders. “Petition to not have them break-up after the play is over?”

“I second!” Yuta says from next to Mark, who laughs the boyish chortle that has immediately Donghyuck beaming despite not being the cause of it (everyone knew that there was something going on between them but they were waiting for them to come clean about it; it also provided good entertainment to see them act like there was nothing to know about).

Jaehyun laughed. He felt Taeyong curl up next to him as he buried his face in his shoulder. Jaehyun can guess from embarrassment. He quickly shuts the others down, albeit lightly. “Guys, don’t push it.”

“Yeah,” Taeyong laughed, looking up from Jaehyun’s shoulder to glance around the auditorium. “Taeil may have been... over the top with the idea, but at least Jaehyun and I are pretty close now. If I do say so myself.”

When Taeyong finished speaking, his head is tucked under Jaehyun’s chin. Jaehyun simpered, pressing a quick kiss on Taeyong’s hair. Purely because he could and he wanted to and he did it without thought.

It’s been a little under the week since Taeyong and Jaehyun started their method acting-esque exercise, but Jaehyun was sure that acting didn’t give him the same jittery, fluttering feelings that Taeyong does. Some may say that he was smitten with the boy, him included.

“Alright, you two, off the stage.” Johnny jested. “Yuta and Sicheng are up.”

Sicheng swings his feet off from the armrest, lifting his hand over the seat in front of him and dropping his script on Doyoung’s lap. “Get up, Osaka. Let’s go.”

Yuta snorts, handing his script to Mark and getting to his feet as well. “Alright, Wenzhou. I hope you learned your lines.”

“Please.” Sicheng scoffed playfully, waiting for Yuta to pass him before walking down the aisle, two steps behind him. “I’ve had them memorized for days.”

“Let’s hope you two aren’t all talk, then.” Jungwoo mused as the two boys got on stage. Jaehyun stands after Taeyong, his hand falling from his shoulders and to his back, the two of them walking down the same way Sicheng and Yuta were making their way up.

“Wait, I’m not in any scenes with them.” Donghyuck said, looking to Taeil.

“Oh.” Taeil deadpanned. “Get down, then.”

Donghyuck titters as he runs down the stage, taking Yuta’s seat partly because he knew Mark didn’t like sitting alone and mostly because he wanted to sit with Mark. Renjun rolls his eyes when he sees that, a visual representation of everyone else’s inner musings.

“They like each other, right?” Jaehyun whispered lowly as he and Taeyong took a seat a few rows behind Jeno and Jaemin, a little bit farther than the distance between Mark and Donghyuck from Taeil and Doyoung. Yuta and Sicheng are in their blockings, throwing small but good-natured barbs at each other before their scene starts; it’s been their way of keeping each other in check and no one was going to stop them from their little routine.

Taeyong shrugged, leaning closer so that they could whisper better. “Pretty sure. Sicheng has been crushing on Yuta since last year, and I’m pretty sure all that aggressive flirting means their feelings are mutual.”

Jaehyun laughs, making the tip of his nose touch Taeyong’s for half a second before he pulls away again. “I heard that birds of the same feather flock together.”

“So?” Taeyong’s brow twitched at the non sequitur. His nose burned from Jaehyun’s touch but he tried not to dwell on that. He also tried not to dwell on the fact that he wanted to give Jaehyun another eskimo kiss.

“Does that mean that the way to your heart is some aggressive flirting, too?” Jaehyun simpered. “Does that mean I have to change my game of sweet nothings?”

Taeyong takes a tentative breath. He and Sicheng were friends, sure, but Taeyong wasn’t as fond of aggressive flirting as Sicheng was. He certainly preferred Jaehyun’s sweet nothings more. Or just Jaehyun.

Taeyong blinked, leaning away from Jaehyun, nibbling on his bottom lip.

No, he couldn’t back down from the flirting. Never mind how many hiccups he’ll have to swallow down or how many stutters his heart would have to endure before shutting down.

He matched Jaehyun’s lazy smile, nudging Jaehyun’s nose with his own. “You’re more than enough, beau.”

Jaehyun recognizes his words from a few days earlier, and a small smile creeps up on his lips. Taeyong leans back, turning to the scene being rehearsed. He feels Jaehyun prop his arm on top of his shoulders, and almost by reflex, Taeyong leans into the touch, the back of his head settling on Jaehyun’s shoulder as the two of them watched the exchange between Yuta, Sicheng, and Renjun.

Yeah, it’s just Jaehyun.

**ACT IV SCENE II**

“You like him, don’t you?” Sicheng asked when they were alone in the green room. Taeil and the others have already gone home, save for Jaehyun, Renjun, and Yuta who were still in the auditorium checking to see if anyone left anything important.

Taeyong almost drops his phone, pulled away from his own bubble of social media. He turns to Sicheng, shock painting his features much like how Chenle’s and Jisung’s faces were painted with brown and white the other day.

“Like...?” Taeyong feigned ignorance, though the look in his friend’s face only told him that he was delaying the inevitable. He’d been dancing around the idea for days now, alternating between giddy and anxious and flustered whenever the possibility comes to mind.

“Jaehyun.” Sicheng deadpanned. “Your boyfriend.”

“He’s my boyfriend.” Taeyong scoffed. “Of _course_ , I like him.”

Sicheng tittered, humoured and sarcastic. “You know that’s not what I mean, Taeyong.”

Taeyong pressed his lips together. He gives up with his attempts to distract himself with his phone, setting it down on his lap as he snaps his gaze to Sicheng, who was seated across the room. He can feel the tips of his ears heat up in the beginning of a blush but he pushes the feeling away. “Maybe? I honestly don’t know.”

“He likes you, you know.” Sicheng noted sagely as his fingers aimlessly traced the armrest of his chair. “He looks at you different now. And before you tell me that your acting improved, let me tell you that I’m an actor, too. I can see what’s fake and what’s not.”

“And the way you two look at each other?” Sicheng huffed in lieu of a chortle. “That’s not fake, Tae.”

“Maybe we’re just, really good actors.” Taeyong mused, internally cursing at himself when he goes through everything that Sicheng has just told him. When Sicheng sees that Taeyong has his brows furrowed, he lets out a laugh. He can almost see Taeyong’s internal conflict in the crease between his brows and he thinks it’s cute how his friend is struggling with something plain as day.

Jaehyun and Yuta walk in at that moment, having waved goodbye to Renjun outside of the auditorium.

Yuta smiled when he saw Sicheng laughing but quickly clicked his tongue to get their attention. “I hope you’re not stabbing me in the back, Wenzhou.”

“Please,” Sicheng snorted, left-over inklings of his laughter still evident in his tone. “Taeyong’s not one to gossip.”

Jaehyun walks over to Taeyong, reaching his arm out for Taeyong to take. Taeyong rolls his eyes but wraps his fingers around Jaehyun’s arm anyway. He stands, letting Jaehyun press a quick kiss on his cheek, a habit that they’ve both fallen into whenever they’ve been apart for more than ten minutes. A silent greeting, Jaehyun had explained to Doyoung a few days ago when he made a comment about it.

“Are you tired? I’ll take you home.” Jaehyun said, low enough for Yuta and Sicheng not to hear. The other two were busy with their side of the room, throwing jabs at each other that only the two of them would find endearing.

Taeyong hummed, nodding, catching himself before he fell into the temptation of going lax against Jaehyun’s body. “Mn. But we can drop by Limitless, or somewhere. Grab a bite to eat? I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“Do you want some fries?” Jaehyun asked with his dimple showing despite the small size of his smile.

Taeyong nodded again, his bottom lip jutting out despite his lips being pressed together. “And coconut cream pie.”

“Limitless, then.” Jaehyun said as he took his jacket from the table by the wall, next to the chair Taeyong was sitting on earlier. He throws the jacket on top of Taeyong’s shoulders, the sleeves hanging lifelessly next to Taeyong’s arms.

“I heard Limitless.” Yuta said as he opened the door to the green room and he and Sicheng stepped out. “Up for a double date?”

Sicheng snorted and walked out the door. “As if I’d go on a date with you, Osaka.”

“Watch your words, Wenzhou.” Yuta jested as he followed after Sicheng, a big grin on his face as he sped up to match Sicheng’s pace.

“We’ll meet you there!” Jaehyun raised his voice enough for them to hear.

Taeyong and Jaehyun meet eyes, the two of them sharing a laugh at the two’s behaviour before Jaehyun’s hand finds the small of Taeyong’s back again and they walk out onto the carpark, just in time to see Sicheng’s car leave the school gates.

**ACT IV SCENE III**

The four of them laughed and chatted over milkshakes, pies, and fries. Jaehyun was leaning into Taeyong more than not, the two of them lost in their own world with a narrow bridge in the form of their booth’s table connecting their’s to Yuta and Sicheng’s.

The sun is setting when the four of them decide to call it a day. Yuta and Sicheng lived a few streets away from each other, which called for Sicheng driving Yuta home.

Jaehyun’s hand was once again on Taeyong’s back as they walked to where Jaehyun’s car was parked. They’ve both picked up on the habit, neither of them saying anything to acknowledge it but both aware of the gesture. It felt natural to them now, being together, touching, smiling, flirting.

“You know,” Taeyong started as they walked. “Sicheng has this insane idea that...”

He trails off, suddenly second-guessing his move to tell Jaehyun about Sicheng’s assumptions. He didn’t want to unintentionally make Jaehyun uncomfortable. But Sicheng wasn’t blind, and neither was Taeyong. He knew where Sicheng got his assumptions and he couldn’t say that he himself was innocent of everything being purely acting.

“That?” Jaehyun asked. They were in front of Jaehyun’s car now and Jaehyun shifts to face Taeyong and give him his full attention.

Taeyong exhales, a touch of a laugh lingering in his breath. “That... we’re...”

“We’re...?” Jaehyun asked. His brows were furrowed, but there was an amused smile on his face, a mixture of confusion and hilarity in his features.

“Uh... hmm...” Taeyong trailed-off again.

Jaehyun tittered, cupping Taeyong’s cheeks in his hands as he forces the boy to look at him— when did he look above Jaehyun’s shoulder? The two inches that Jaehyun had on Taeyong were suddenly too big of a gap as he felt smaller than he was under Jaehyun’s gaze.

“Tae,” Jaehyun cachinnated, the sound almost inaudible against the pounding in Taeyong’s chest. “I won’t be able to understand what you’re saying if you don’t use words.”

Taeyong pouted at the teasing, and Jaehyun laughed again. He could feel Taeyong’s blush from under his palms, and his heart leaped at the effect he had on Taeyong. He couldn’t imagine going back to living without the right to have Taeyong blush.

“What was Sicheng’s insane idea?” Jaehyun asked, wanting to get Taeyong’s mind off of his blush before he noticed it.

Taeyong sighed, wanting to look away from Jaehyun but knowing he’d miss the eye contact the moment he did. “He had this insane idea that maybe... we liked each other. For real.”

There’s a moment of silence between them and Jaehyun can hear his own heart stutter in his chest at the implication before he smiles even larger. He found Taeyong endearing right now when he’s mumbling under his breath and his cheeks bunched in his palms making his lips pucker ever-so slightly.

“We’re boyfriends.” Jaehyun said. “Of course, we like each other.”

“That’s what I said.” Taeyong grinned, but Jaehyun understood the fine print. ‘That’s what I said, but you know what I’m talking about.’

Jaehyun hummed to appear contemplative. “Well... crazy isn’t impossible.”

Taeyong almost barked out a skeptic chortle. “What?”

“I’m saying that crazy doesn’t mean false.” Jaehyun squishes Taeyong’s cheeks, extremely careful not to hurt him.

Jaehyun leans forward, his lips pressing a chaste kiss on Taeyong’s forehead. Taeyong’s breath hitches in his throat, the unbreathed air morphing into a hiccup that leaves Taeyong’s lips the moment Jaehyun’s leaves his forehead.

Taeyong’s hiccups have been a trigger for Jaehyun’s heart. A hiccup always resulted with a skip in Jaehyun’s heartbeat. It was almost like a joint spasm between them, a sign that said they felt flustered and giddy at the same time.

Jaehyun smiles fondly at the boy, squishing his cheeks again before letting go and opening the door of his car. “Let’s get you home, beau.”

**ACT IV SCENE IV**

The car ride to Taeyong’s apartment is quiet. The two of them are enveloped in a fragile silence, questions and answers circling the stilted air between them. Taeyong’s eyes are fixed outside the window in an idle attempt of shutting down the phantom feeling of Jaehyun’s palms on his cheeks. He was warm, Taeyong realized since long ago, and the warmth radiating from Jaehyun embroidered itself with the heat that came from Taeyong’s own blush, making it difficult for him to pinpoint exactly where Jaehyun’s warmth ended and Taeyong’s blush started.

“It’s green.” Taeyong said, lips barely moving but words still audible. He didn’t move his head to spare Jaehyun a glance, his eyes still locked outside the window. He didn’t have to turn to Jaehyun to know that he was staring at him; a voice in the back of his mind tells him that Jaehyun is looking at him and that tells Taeyong that they’re met with a red light.

Hiccups don’t blossom in times like this, Taeyong realized. As steadfast as his heartbeats get when Jaehyun’s eyes are on him, the attention also gave him a sense of peace. He liked it, despite the clenching in his chest and the shortness of his breath.

The hum of the car’s engine reaches Taeyong’s ears, the airy sound a constant through car rides but never as noticeable as it is now. Taeyong imagines it as the humming of his own heart, willing it to calm. He turns to look at Jaehyun, a minute smile appearing on his face as he takes in Jaehyun’s side-profile.

Taeyong’s heart skips a beat when Jaehyun’s dimple turns up, Jaehyun sneaking a quick look at Taeyong to shoot him a wink.

“I’m all your’s, Tae, you don’t have to look at me like I’m going away.” Jaehyun laughed, turning a corner.

Taeyong bites down a hiccup a second before it forms, his hand flying to clutch at his shirt where his heart was, willing the damned thing to calm down before he started hyperventilating on the spot.

“You’re not any better.” Taeyong’s caper was light as he snorted. “You keep staring at me when the car stops.”

Jaehyun pulls up across the street from Taeyong’s apartment complex. He laughs, imitating Taeyong when he wrinkles his nose. Jaehyun leans toward Taeyong, the once still silence in the air now playful and cheeky. “Because you’re you.”

“I’m me?” Taeyong quipped.

Jaehyun nodded, one hand leaving the wheel and cupping Taeyong’s cheek, the touching skin burning to both parties. “Yeah. My beau is really cute. It’d be a shame not to stare, especially when I still have the right to.”

“ _Still_ have the right to?” Taeyong echoed with a brow raised. “Are you planning on renouncing your right anytime soon?”

“I don’t want to.” Jaehyun admits with a sigh. “Do you want me to?”

A beat of silence passes through. Jaehyun’s thumb strokes Taeyong’s cheek, painting the apples of his cheeks pink and red. Another beat passes, and Taeyong issues a subtle smile.

“No.” his tone was light enough to be a whine, but firm enough to be a demand. “I don’t want you to.”

Jaehyun can feel the pout in his voice, and he had an inkling that if it weren’t for his hand on Taeyong’s cheek, he would have started shaking his head. Jaehyun was both esteemed and bashful that he’s picked up on Taeyong’s mannerisms so quickly.

The tips of Jaehyun’s lips pull upward, the lack of traction becoming easier and easier for Jaehyun when his eyes are filling with the imagery of Taeyong.

“Good,” Jaehyun said before leaving a tender kiss on Taeyong’s cheek, the one his hand wasn’t cupping. “because I don’t want to.”

Taeyong hummed, eyes closed to better feel the caress of Jaehyun’s lips on his cheek. There weren’t any hiccups, just his heart skipping beats every three quick ones. Jaehyun’s kisses were addictive to Taeyong, and he wanted nothing more than to feel his lips against his.

A small pout tugs on Taeyong’s lips as he opens his eyes, looking into Jaehyun’s amused ones.

“Why are you pouting, beau?” Jaehyun chuckled.

Taeyong didn’t answer. His eyes lower to Jaehyun’s smile for a fraction of a moment before fluttering back to Jaehyun’s eyes that were in every way as bemused as his smile. Taeyong matches Jaehyun’s smile with a small, slightly dazed one of his own.

Taeyong shakes his head, making Jaehyun drop his hand from his cheek. “’M tired, Jae. Sleepy.”

“Good thing you’re home.” Jaehyun smiled, and before Taeyong could think that Jaehyun meant that _he_ was Taeyong’s home, Jaehyun steps out of the car, quickly running around the front of it to open the door for Taeyong before he did it himself, which Taeyong had proved stubborn enough to do so multiple times.

When the door next to him is opened, he doesn’t step out. He throws his legs out of the car, his shoes hit the paved cement of the sidewalk, his head tilts up so that he could look past Jaehyun and into the setting sun, the soft golden light caging Jaehyun in the glow that made Taeyong want to stay in the moment longer.

“I thought you were tired.” Jaehyun laughed, probably referring to Taeyong refusing to stand from his seat.

Taeyong’s eyes move from the sunset to Jaehyun’s eyes which reminded Taeyong vaguely of two uppercase D’s that were turned to the side, housing a small orb of light each, much like a lone firefly inside a jar and left on Taeyong’s windowsill as the only source of light in the late night.

Taeyong wondered if he might ever get the chance to see exactly how bright fireflies could shine in the night.

Jaehyun bends down, just enough for him to take Taeyong’s hand and pull him to his feet. He doesn’t let go even when Taeyong is already stood in front of him. His hand fit too much into his for him to let go. He lifts his other hand and gently brushes Taeyong’s fringe out of his eyes, not breaking eye contact from Taeyong, who’s been silent all the while.

“What?” Jaehyun exhaled in lieu of a chuckle. Taeyong had suddenly gone quiet, any signs of speaking unfound in his features. Taeyong looked deep in thought, spiraling between reality and his inner musings. Jaehyun was slowly being tinged with a touch of concern, wondering if he did or said anything that made him uncomfortable. For all he knew, Taeyong and him were on the same page, although unspokenly agreed upon.

But maybe Jaehyun read all the signs wrong, and Taeyong was simply that good of an actor. Maybe their set-up was still only that for him; a set-up that Taeil made so that they can act as a believable married couple, and it was Jaehyun’s mistake, and his alone, that he went and made believable into real.

Jaehyun’s thoughts are cut off the same time Taeyong breaks himself away from his own train of thoughts. Taeyong’s hand slips from Jaehyun’s hand, and before Jaehyun could feel bereft of Taeyong’s touch, his fingers are coiling around Jaehyun’s wrist, pulling him barely a centimeter closer.

Taeyong’s lips tug upwards in a distracted smile yet Taeyong’s eyes looked suspiciously focused. Jaehyun would wonder how one person can be two things at one time if that person he was wondering about were anyone but Taeyong. But these days Jaehyun has found it surprisingly difficult to wonder about anyone that wasn’t Taeyong.

“I have to pay my fare.” Taeyong spoke in a calm and steady voice, the subtle shake reaching his ears only. He pulls Jaehyun closer, another fraction of a centimeter.

Jaehyun takes an experimental inhale. Taeyong’s kisses always closed their time together, with Taeyong claiming that he was paying fare for Jaehyun driving him around. He’d say that Taeyong didn’t have to pay him anything, but he liked being able to look forward to a kiss on the cheek after every day.

Jaehyun gives a curt nod, telling Taeyong that he could lean forward and press his lips on Jaehyun’s cheek.

But that’s not what Taeyong did. He didn’t lean forward, he pulled Jaehyun to him, leaning against the side of the roof of Jaehyun’s car. From the unexpected pull, Jaehyun holds on to the car door with his other hand, keeping his balance.

Taeyong doesn’t press his lips on Jaehyun’s cheek, either. He places a kiss on Jaehyun’s lips, soft and quick enough that Jaehyun would have missed it altogether if Taeyong’s red cheeks weren’t proof that Taeyong had kissed him.

Taeyong had kissed him. It was a flash of contact that Jaehyun could barely consider it as a kiss. And now Taeyong was looking at him through his eyelashes, the hand around his wrist trembling slightly as he anticipated for Jaehyun’s reaction.

“I’m sorry,” Taeyong whispered between nibbles on his bottom lip. “I went off script.”

Jaehyun wants to chuckle at his words, but he can’t find his own words. So instead, he leans back into Taeyong, capturing his lips in another kiss. A kiss that lasted and gave him enough time to process that what he was feeling was Taeyong’s lips on his.

Taeyong gasps against the kiss, still pressed against the side of Jaehyun’s opened car, but the kiss was anything but unwelcomed. He lets go of Jaehyun’s wrist, both his hands flying to ruffle Jaehyun’s hair as Jaehyun tilted his head and slotted his lips against Taeyong’s.

The hand that Taeyong lets go off finds his back and pulls the boy closer as they both refused to let go of the kiss. Jaehyun sighs into Taeyong’s mouth when Taeyong nibbles on his. Then he hears Taeyong giggle through the kiss, and Jaehyun couldn’t help but let out a small smile of his own.

The sun was about to finish setting when they pull away. Jaehyun keeps his forehead against Taeyong’s, his nape burning from the feel of Taeyong’s fingers toying with his hair. Taeyong’s eyes are still closed as they catch their breath, and Jaehyun lets himself venerate the way that Taeyong’s parted lips were a modicum swollen, his breaths ragged and frayed, much like how he himself was breathing. The bridge of Taeyong’s nose was brushed with a tinge of pink, spreading to his cheeks like a wildfire, though the fire in Taeyong’s face was nothing more than a dying ember.

Taeyong’s eyes open, and he meets Jaehyun’s with an airy laugh, leaning even more into Jaehyun’s arms. He takes his forehead away from Jaehyun’s to bury his face in the crook of his shoulder. Jaehyun shudders when he feels Taeyong’s nose brush against the skin under his chin and the air from his mouth reach even until his collarbones. The shiver coaxes Jaehyun to pull Taeyong a smidgen closer.

“It’s getting dark.” Taeyong whispered, barely audible from how low he spoke. “You should head home.”

“You have to let go of me for me to do that.” Jaehyun mused, his hand sliding up from where it was pressed on Taeyong’s back.

“A little later, then.” Taeyong nuzzles into his shoulder even more. Jaehyun chuckles fondly, placing a kiss on Taeyong’s hair before tucking his head under his chin and waiting for the last blotches of orange and red to fade into a dark blue.

**EPILOGUE**

Opening night. The company call ended ten minutes ago and everyone was running around backstage, making last-minute preparations and clarifications before the curtains were drawn. Despite the ruckus behind the curtains, the green room was empty, save for Taeyong and Jaehyun who were seated on the tiled floor of the room with their scripts pushed to the side as Jaehyun leaned over Taeyong and pressed kisses on the boy’s face.

The initial plan was to run through their lines one last time, but somewhere along the practice, Taeyong found himself stealing a quick kiss from his boyfriend, which led to him being peppered with kisses as he let out tinny giggles.

After their first kiss barely a month and a half ago, Taeyong and Jaehyun took their set-up more seriously. They went more genuine, too caught up and giddy that they were on the same page to take things slow. They were strangers then boyfriends in a blink of an eye, taking things slow wasn’t on their agenda. They were boyfriends, before and after the play.

Taeyong tittered, his elbows propped on Jaehyun’s shoulders whilst his wrists met behind Jaehyun’s neck. He met all of Jaehyun’s kisses before his lips moved on to Taeyong’s cheeks, nose, and forehead before back to his lips.

“Jae,” Taeyong inhaled, not enough to be a gasp. “we have to practice.”

“We know our lines, beau.” Jaehyun mused before leaving two kisses on Taeyong’s cheek.

“I know.” Taeyong whispered before pouting his lips. Jaehyun sees the action, a soft laugh escaping from him as he leans in to kiss Taeyong properly. The arms on Jaehyun’s neck pull him closer, and Taeyong wanted to kiss him longer, if not for the hiccup that shot through from him. Jaehyun starts to laugh, pulling away from Taeyong. His lips stay on the corner of Taeyong’s lips as he laughs, Taeyong pouting at the loss of contact. He couldn’t find it himself to be embarrassed anymore, not when Jaehyun’s laughing was filling his ears.

“Okay, Dads, time to stop.” Donghyuck groused playfully as he entered the green room with Mark two steps behind him. Mark’s fist rapped on the wall next to the doorframe in hopes of separating the couple on the floor.

“Why are you on the floor, anyway?” Mark’s amused voice asked as he leaned on the wall.

“We don’t know, too.” Jaehyun laughed as he tucked his head on the crevice between Taeyong’s neck and shoulder and he reached for the script nearer to him.

“Well, whatever...” Donghyuck purses his lips as he filters through his brain for a word, his brow twitching upward when he does. “rendezvous you two are in the middle of can wait. We’re ten minutes to places.”

“Break a leg, guys.” Mark says as he and Donghyuck watch Jaehyun and Taeyong get to their feet. Donghyuck eyes Jaehyun’s hand as it disappears behind Taeyong’s back with a stifled giggle. He was playing their kid, after all, and seeing his stage parents act as affectionately as they did permeated a sense of pride within Donghyuck. Renjun was the same despite his stubbornness to admit to it.

“Guys, places!” Jungwoo yells as he peeks inside the door, dashing off before any of them could turn to look at him, but he peeks back in after a second. “And try not to go off script, please.”

The statement was directed at Donghyuck, but Jaehyun and Taeyong couldn’t help but share a laugh as Jungwoo’s head withdrew from the opened door and ran off to wherever he was needed.

“Let’s get on with the show.” Taeyong smiled. He shared a nod with a jittery Donghyuck and the four of them left the green room, Mark walking the three of them backstage before he jogged to the back of the auditorium where the technical booth was and where he was stationed for the entirety of the play.

“Good luck, beau.” Jaehyun whispers in Taeyong’s ear.

“We got this.” Taeyong laughs timidly.

Yuta and Sicheng are already in the middle of the stage, being the ones to open the play.

The curtains draw to the side, and the play is starting.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! this ended up way longer than i originally thought it would, but oh well hhhhh :P tell me your thoughts on it down in the comments or on my [curious cat](https://curiouscat.qa/water_lili_es) or visit my [twitter](https://twitter.com/markeu_tuan93) for more stories!! *^^*


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